Data networks contain various network devices, such as switches, for sending and receiving data between two locations. For example, frame relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (“ATM”) networks contain interconnected network devices that allow data packets or cells to be channeled over a circuit through the network from a host device to a remote device. For a given network circuit, the data from a host device is delivered to the network through a physical circuit such as a T1 line that links to a switch of the network. The remote device that communicates with the host through the network also has a physical circuit to a switch of the network. A network circuit also includes a logical circuit which includes a variable communication path for data between the switches associated with the host and the remote device.
In large-scale data networks, the host and remote end devices of a network circuit may be connected across different local access and transport areas (“LATAs”) which may in turn be connected to one or more Inter-Exchange Carriers (“IEC”) for transporting data between the LATAs. These connections are made through physical trunk circuits utilizing fixed logical connections known as Network-to-Network Interfaces (“NNIs”). Periodically, a logical circuit may become congested when the data being communicated exceeds certain predefined service parameters resulting in the logical circuit becoming overdriven or “overbalanced” due to excess data. As a result, data packets or cells between a host and remote device may be dropped.
Currently, overbalanced logical circuit conditions are managed by isolating the source of the network congestion and then troubleshooting the circuit to clear the congestion. However, current methods of handling overbalanced circuit conditions suffer from several drawbacks. One drawback is that isolating and clearing logical circuit congestion is time consuming and often requires taking the network circuit out of service to perform testing on both the logical and physical circuits. Moreover, if the congestion cannot be isolated by the technicians in a LATA or the congestion is located within the IEC, cooperative testing with the IEC must also be coordinated to isolate the failure congestion to a further increase in downtime in the network circuit.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.